Cory Gibbs

Cory Gibbs (born January 14, 1980 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is a former American soccer player. He also spent time at clubs in Germany, the Netherlands and England, and played 19 international matches, including at the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Career

College and amateur

Gibbs played college soccer at Brown University, joining the team in 1997. During his career, Brown won three Ivy League Championships and participated in the NCAA Tournament all four years. In 2000, Gibbs led Brown to an Ivy League championship and the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. He was named Ivy League Player of the Year, and a First-Team All-American. In 2000, he spent the collegiate off season with the Palm Beach Pumas of the Premier Development League. He was also one of three Brown soccer players, including Matthew Cross (Kansas City Wizards) and Scott Powers (Columbus Crew), to be drafted in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft.

Professional

Germany

After graduating from Brown in 2001, Gibbs decided not to play in MLS and joined FC St. Pauli of the Bundesliga. He played 25 games for St. Pauli that season, becoming the youngest American to score a goal in the Bundesliga with a goal against FC Cologne. He was also a part of the side that famously beat the world champions Bayern Munich, a result that earned St. Pauli the nickname of weltpokalsiegerbesieger, translated as World Club Championship Winner Beaters. St. Pauli was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga after the 2001–02 season, and Gibbs played an equally important role with the team in his second season as in his first. St. Pauli, however, was relegated again after the 2002–03 season, this time to the Regionalliga Nord, the German third division. Gibbs remained with the team, being moved from central defense to defensive midfielder.